A South Korean man who was confirmed to have Middle East Respiratory Syndrome in China has remained in stable condition, according to Chinese officials and state media Sunday.

Chinese health authorities have been on alert since the 44-year-old man tested positive for MERS on Friday, the first confirmed case in China. In South Korea, the number of patients infected with the virus rose to 15 as of Sunday.

The Korean man, the son of another patient who was diagnosed with the virus in South Korea on May 20, flew to China from Hong Kong on Tuesday, after ignoring instructions by doctors to stay home.

He has been put under observation in isolation at a hospital in the southern city of Huizhou, according to China's National Health and Family Planning Commission.

The man had a "fever, but was in stable condition," the commission said in a statement.

A total of 47 people who have had contact with the Korean man have been under medical observation in isolation in mainland China, state news agency Xinhua reported, citing the commission.

Health authorities in Hong Kong have also put 14 South Koreans and 15 Chinese nationals who had contact with the man under medical observation in isolation.

In a notice, South Korea's Consulate General in Hong Kong asked people who were on board an Asiana Airlines OZ723 flight with the man to make contact with the consulate office.

MERS is a viral respiratory illness that is fairly new to humans, with only 1,142 reported cases in 23 countries since the first case was confirmed in Saudi Arabia in 2012. There currently is no vaccine or treatment for the disease. (Yonhap)